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Greetings and British Siren Question
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:31 am
by panoptagon
Hello,
My name is Jeff Davis and I am a Sound Effects Editor/ Designer working in Vancouver B.C. I am currently working on a Film which takes place in London and Glasgow during the 1950's. I am in search of information on the Sirens/Bell's which the Police used on their cars during this period. Any information regarding Make, Model, Manufacturer would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jeff Davis
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:23 am
by Jim_Ferer
Welcome, that's fascinating. There was a thread here that discussed this and might even have had sound clips. It seems that the police used hi-lo alternating air horns, not sirens as we understand them, in the '50s. The tones used in the UK were different than the horns used in most of Europe. Here's a link:
http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n231 ... oTones.flv
And a German ambulance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNuD29W3naI
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:46 am
by Daniel
We have several British board members who could possibly shed some light on your questions.
Most English police vehicles and ambulances in the 70's (I didn't live in the 50's, but they were probably similar) used a two-tone air horn that sounded a musical 2nd interval (e.g. Ab,Bb notes as in Jim Ferer's first sound clip) rather than the typical Continental fourth interval (Bb, Eb notes, as in Jim's second clip of the Swiss ambulance). The Italian firm Stebel currently makes horns with a 2nd interval, and these "British-sounding" ones are still used by French firefighters and in other countries.
http://www.stebel.it
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:29 pm
by panoptagon
Wow! You guys know your stuff.
Thanks for the replies! Does anyone on the group happen to have high quality recordings of this type of siren?
Thanks again,
Jeff Davis
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 3:46 am
by Jim_Ferer
Unless you're on an extremely tight budget, your best bet is probably to buy one of these horn sets directly from the makers. I've seen them in ads today for ?120.
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:28 pm
by electrosiren
back that far (1950) many emergency vehicles in UK didn't have a siren or a horn, they infact had a bell....
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 2:04 pm
by Don't Panic!
electrosiren wrote:back that far (1950) many emergency vehicles in UK didn't have a siren or a horn, they infact had a bell....
Just to add to this old thread, what British police and ambulance vehicles used in the 1950s the Winkworth bell. Fire engines used a low pitched and slower ringing bell. The Winkworth bell carried on in service in London into the 1970s, being fitted on "siren fitted" police cars which also had the British two-tones. Bells carried on in service until the end of the 1980s atleast on station vans and "governors" cars.
A late 1960s Jag fitted with the bell and two-tones, at 2mins and 10 secs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdw4SZIh-X0
The film The Blue Lamp, opening scene with the police bell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C_6_tPj33A
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